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My Friends & Things that I Like on the Internet and in the World

Today I thought I would share some things that my friends have done and some things that I like. These two things are obviously not mutually exclusive. My friends are very talented people.

ART

One of my interests outside books, education and libraries is art. At least 50% of my friends are artists so I end up going to a lot of exhibition openings and the like. Manchester has loads of stuff going on, from huge commercial exhibitions to tiny independent galleries.

Recent Exhibition # 1

twoducksdisco at Trove Cafe, Levenshulme, Manchester

My boyfriend teaches Graphics to A-Level kids and also runs his own one-man design company, twoducksdisco. He designs t-shirts, CD artwork for bands, gig posters and recently had an exhibition of his work at one of our favourite local cafes, Trove in Levenshulme.

Recent Exhibition # 2

The First Cut at Manchester City Art Gallery, Manchester

This exhibition ran from October 2012-January 2013 and featured all sorts of paper art, including sculptures made out of old books, sinister fairytale scenes and giant leaves suspended from the ceiling.

Recent Exhibition # 3

How Are You Feeling? By David Shrigley at The Cornerhouse, Manchester

I’ve always been fairly ambivilent about Shrigley’s artwork, loving some pieces and being fairly nonplussed about others. However, I really enjoyed this exhibition. It had a sense of fun that many art exhibitions lack, and was interactive and original. There was a giant burden (rucksack), videos, a napping station, walls covered in sketches, a opportunity to act in a play and a lifedrawing class featuring a giant man sculpture. The sound of laughter was a large part of the exhibition – nobody seemed able to stop, especially in the sketch room.

Recent Exhibition # 4

VS at Rogue Artists Studios Project Space, Manchester

On Friday I attended an exhibition at Rogue Artist Studios Project Space where my good friend Taneesha Ahmed is co-curator. This particular exhibition was entited “VS” and was an “art fight” between Manchester artists and Lincoln artists. It was good fun and featured, amongst other things: A Wii dance-off, a spaceship, Rambo, Vimto punch and a giant balloon. (Lincoln won, but Manchester gave its best shot).

NEXT EXHIBITION: All That We Are Is All That We Leave Behind – Illustrations by Peter Jackson at Trove Cafe, Manchester on Monday 4th February.

OTHER ART THINGS:

My friend Lydia Meiying is a lovely person, illustrator and surface-pattern designer from Manchester. Her stuff features lots of birds, animals and patterns and is amazing.

My sister, Emily Reid is currently in her 3rd year of a Visual Communications degree at Leeds College of Art. Her tumblr account is full of fun, lovely and brilliantly weird things that she has made or found online.

WRITING

Emily McPhillips has known me for a Long Time, has a way with words and is an all-round Good Egg.

Giles Ruffer once dressed up in my clothes. I can’t remember why. His waist size was smaller than mine. He also writes and the writing is top.

Ilona Burton writes about raising mental-health awareness and has recently written a book about anorexia.

OTHER STUFF

I found out today that an old work colleague has been writing a blog, LilyLovesLola for ages and I never knew! It’s got loads about fashion, crafts, pugs and general lovely stuff.

A library-school colleague, Ana, writes the brilliant book blog Things Mean a Lot. Ana knows more about books that I could ever hope to.